Rally for North End beach Saturday at noon
Dune-grass planting precedes protest against developing site
Several local environmental groups are coming together at a rally to preserve open space this weekend at the north end of Asbury Park.
The Jersey Shore Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and Citizens for Oceanfront Preservation are orchestrating the rally, which begins at noon Saturday at the North Beach parking lot and dunes. A dune-planting will start at 10 a.m. in that location. The American Littoral Society is also participating in both events.
“… We will accept nothing less than the preservation of this last coastal open space in Monmouth County,” according to the organizations’ website, saveasburypark.com.
Throughout the event, there will be tables with information and photos, the website states. Speakers will discuss the new beach access rules, efforts to keep Asbury Park’s north end beach from being developed, and ways to preserve the New Jersey coastline.
The organizations are calling for the preservation of two tracts of land in that area. A .6-acre tract has been approved for 15 town houses, which would be built in the Ocean Avenue right-of-way from the sewerage treatment plant, north toward the Loch Arbour border.
Waterfront redeveloper Asbury Partners owns the development rights to that area of land.
Asbury Partners also owns an adjacent .6-acre tract, which is triangular shaped and is currently a fenced-in parking lot. This parcel is approved for a residential high-rise building. However, the state has some legal rights to this property and would have to consent to the project being built.
The county government’s semi-autonomous board of recreation commissioners is considering the purchase of both tracts for use as a park. That would require paying Asbury Partners for the land and the development rights.
The city council has sent a letter to the county saying it would welcome the county and Asbury Partners coming to an agreement to preserve the Ocean Avenue tract where the 15 townhouses are approved. The board of recreation commissioners has ordered an appraisal to value the two properties, which has not yet been completed.